Asian American lesbians and gays have been largely invisible
in Christian churches. Some Asian American churches silence the issue
for fear of division and conflict. Other Asian American church leaders
have condemned homosexuality and publicly protested against same-sex marriage.
Yet lesbian and gay Asian Americans and their families worship and serve
in churches every day. Where are their voices? This honest and thought-provoking
film tells a story that the church needs to hear: that of Asian American
Christian lesbian and gay people, their pastors, and their parents.

Oneida Chi, a devout young adult Chinese American
in an evangelical Christian church, speaks of her struggle with the discovery
of her own sexual orientation and her search for self-acceptance and religious
community. Husband and wife Harold and Ellen Kameya, active leaders
in their Japanese American church, tell the story of their shock and confusion
when their beloved daughter first came out, of the isolation and alienation
they felt in their church, and of the importance of a church community
in their Christian journey to grow in understanding, courage and love
for their daughter. The Rev. Nobuaki Hanaoka, an immigrant Asian
pastor, seeks to fulfill Jesus message of justice and love for all
people as he speaks out and supports the full acceptance and affirmation
of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the church.

All four are church-loving and God-loving Christians. And yet they
struggle to find kindred spirits and their recognized place in Gods
house.

This film invites you to listen to their stories of courage, inspiration,
and renewed faith, and to hear the importance of supporting lesbian and gay
people as important members of our Asian American families and churches.

Producer's Statement

This film is developed in the context of the national debate about the civil liberties and civil equality of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the United States. The Christian religion has been placed right in the middle of the debate, much in the same way in which Christianity was used to justify slavery at an earlier time in our country’s history.

Of the 13 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders now living in the United States, 43% identify as Christian. This Asian American Christian population has been largely disapproving of LGBT rights, including a number who have in recent years held public protests in major cities against same-sex marriage.

This film was made to address three commonly held responses and beliefs among people who attend Asian American Christian churches: 1) that there are no gay Asian people; 2) that Asian American LGBT people are not faithful Christians; 3) and that certainly, there are no gay and lesbian people in theirownchurch.

We made this film because we know there are indeed Asian American LGBT Christians and their families who worship and serve in our churches every day. This film tells their stories and breaks the painful silence in the hope that this might open up conversation toward greater tolerance and acceptance in the church.

The fact that those whose stories are told in this film are among the very few willing to have their lives and stories filmed underscores the fact that it is still not safe for Asian Americans in the family, the workplace or even the church for members to speak the truth about their Asian American LGBT realities.

Producer: Rev. Deborah Lee is program director of the PANA Institute (Institute for Leadership Development and Study of Pacific Asian North American Religion) at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley and coordinator of the Civil Liberty and Faith project. She is a minister in the United Church of Christ and the coordinator of the Network on Religion and Justice for API-LGBT persons (NRJ-API-LGBT).

About the PANA Institute’s project on Civil Liberty and Faith:
Civil liberty is individual and communal liberty embodied through social equality, economic justice and freedom of religion. The PANA Institute’s project of Civil Liberty and Faith promotes and amplifies the voices of Asian American and Pacific Islander religious leaders and communities working to increase civil liberty by bringing greater inter-religious and inter-ethnic understanding to America’s public discourse.

From 2000-2009, PANA was the Institute for Leadership Development and Study of Pacific and Asian North American Religion, a center of the Pacific School of Religion focused on developing leadership, fostering intellectual discourse, and cultivating critical voices on social issues in and for Pacific and Asian North American religious and scholarly communities.